Ben Thompson (lawman)

Ben Thompson was a gunman, gambler, and sometimes lawman of the Old West. He was a contemporary of Buffalo Bill Cody, Bat Masterson, John Wesley Hardin, and Wild Bill Hickock, some of whom considered him a friend, others an enemy. Thompson fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War, and later for Emperor Maximilian in Mexico. When hired in 1881 as marshal in Austin, Texas, the crime rate reportedly dropped sharply. Thompson was murdered at the age ofin San Antonio, Texas in the Vaudeville Theater Ambush.

Thompson was born in Knottingley, West Yorkshire, England to William and Mary Ann Thompson, in November 1843. The family settled in Austin in late 1852. Ben wasyears old, William 6, and Mary Janeyears old at the time.

Source: Wikipedia